Taibu clings to slim hopes and begs for patience as slaughter looms

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Young Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu has begged the international cricket community for patience, estimating it will take his team two years to be strong enough just to survive in Test cricket without the white players who have held it together in the past.

As the 21-year-old wicketkeeper prepared to lead Zimbabwe to the slaughter against Australia in Tuesday's first one-day match, and the exodus of white players from his troubled nation continued, Taibu clung to the slim hope that Zimbabwe's Test status would not be suspended following the indefinite postponement of the Test series against Australia.

"In about four years' time we could start winning games. But surviving in Test cricket, I would give myself about two years," Taibu said.

"I've stayed away from what has been happening as much as I could, but obviously it has been disappointing that the so-called rebels and the board couldn't come to a better agreement. That's life, I couldn't have anything to do with that.

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"Obviously it does make my job more difficult but life goes on. We just have to find the best way to get out of this situation."

The Test status of Zimbabwe, whose next series is scheduled for October, is set to be debated at an International Cricket Council meeting next month. And its increasing isolation was highlighted last week when it became clear Australia, England, South Africa and the powerful Asian countries would have voted for matches against the depleted team to be stripped of Test status.

The international player union, of which Australian Tim May is chief executive, accused Cricket Australia of betraying the Zimbabwean rebels by hatching a deal with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to play three one-day matches that promise to be just as lopsided as the Tests would have been. But Taibu believes any opportunity to play the world champions should be cherished.

"We need any games we can get at the moment so we get experience and exposure. It was very important for us to get some kind of cricket somewhere," he said.

Australian batsman Darren Lehmann said the players remained sympathetic towards Streak and his sacked colleagues but understood why Australia had to play the one-day matches.

"The one-dayers are a bit different in a way, because we play Namibia, we play Holland, we play the USA; we play sides that are probably substandard anyway," he said. "It's still a tough decision on those rebels but I can see why we're playing them, more so than the Test matches."

Meanwhile, Blignaut is almost certain to follow Ervine to Australia to restart his career after holding talks with Tasmanian officials, including Australian selector on duty David Boon, on Saturday night.

Blignaut and Ervine, whom the Australians passed in transit on his way to Perth, are Zimbabwe's two best young all-rounders, with Blignaut stunning the Australians by smashing 54 off 28 balls at the World Cup.

But Taibu, who cares for his 14-year-old brother when he is not at boarding school after the death of their parents, believes the likes of opening bowler Tinashe Panyangara and batsman Brendan Taylor - one of only two white players in the Zimbabwe squad - could become fine players if only they were given the time.

For now, Taibu will step onto the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday in the unenviable position of "knowing that your chances of winning are very slim", but trying to banish thoughts of the embarrassing capitulation for 35 against Sri Lanka last month. "If you look at the games that followed, they kept improving. That's what I'm focusing on," he said.